Monday, 18 April 2016

Countdown

The countdown is firmly on now for our return trip to France next month. The ferry is booked for the 28th April, the tick lists are currently being written up and the excitement amongst us all is building. We'll be spending the whole of May mainly in The Tarn and potentially checking out somewhere new on the drive back north, towards the end of the month.

My elbow rehab really seems to have taken a big step in the right direction these last couple of weeks. It is certainly feeling stronger all the time and I can now climb, for the most part, with virtually no discomfort at all. I am still uncertain and apprehensive, but it is extremely pleasing to see almost daily improvements.

The tricky part has been NOT to over do things. It has all been a huge 'learning curve' in lots of different ways. I'm used to big, tough and intense sessions. So the hard bit has been having to force myself to stop, even when everything feels fine. A very fine balance. On the one hand you want to gradually up the intensity, but on the other you are cautious of pushing things too far. Finding that middle ground, that seems to constantly be shifting, is tough work!

Cantobre dreaming!

So the plan for this trip is to just take each day as it comes and gradually test the waters. I confess to not having a huge clue as to where my performance levels are at currently. I still feel strong but from a fitness/endurance perspecitive I may be lagging behind a little.

We will be basing ourselves further up the gorge this time so commuting to the crag will be down to
the bare minimum, meaning we can focus on the climbing even more. One thing Jon and myself are quite keen for this time though is heading to check out the big multi pitch stuff in the Gorge du Jonte. While we drove up through this gorge a few times last year we didn't have the time to climb here. It will certainly provide something a little different, and the crags look mega!